Coming home
by This.person.can't.write
Summary: Lance has never been to Long Beach California so why does this boy look so familiar and why does that name ring a bell?
1. Chapter 1

Lance never really met his Dads side of the family, it was something his mother didn't mention a lot and Lance dare not to ask. It was as if they didn't really exist, only coming to life as pass away comments over dinner or in front of the TV. If Lance was honest with himself then he'd admit he was quite curious about the mystery surrounding his dads family. Even his dad wouldn't mention it. Sometimes it bothered Lance, Lance was a family guy, he loved big families, the warmth and closeness they brought, the bickering, the falling out and making up, the big birthday parties. He thought it to be unfair that a whole other side of his family were missing out. So one day he asked his mother about them. That was the last time he asked.

Lance's dad died a few years later, a car accident. Lance was only 10 at the time, too young to be dealing with the loss of someone so close so he did the only thing he could think of, he immersed himself in trinkets, pictures and old letters of his father that he found in their basement. He didn't really think much of the content within his dads stuff, that is until he found an old picture. The picture was of a boy, about 4 years old. He had a toothy grin that matched the mischievous glint in his warm brown eyes, his skin was an olive colour, like Lances, his hair was a couple shades darker and looked just as wild as his smile, if Lance squinted the boy in the picture looked a bit like his dad. Lance turned the photo over gently, on the back there was a name "Leo Valdez." Lance thought it was weird this boy had the same surname as his papa did.

By the time Lance was 13 he had forgot about the trinkets underneath his bed, the letters that were a mix of English and Spanish but he never forgot that one repeated name, the name that was laced into every letter. Leo. Lance deducted that Leo must be a cousin of his, he found out a while ago at the funeral of his papa's that he had two aunties, Rosa and Esperanza, he didn't like Rosa, and Esperanza passed away about 7 years ago so he never got to ask about this Leo person. He often wondered how Leo was doing, if he was happy with a big family like Lance was, if he had any siblings. Lance accepted the fact that he probably would never know.

Lance was 16 and fighting a intergalactic war. Lance couldn't complain though, he'd die to protect his friends and family. Finding the blue lion was overwhelming, it was clear no man could build these astonishing creatures, the way their metallic coat shined and their eyes held the most intensifying intelligence he'd ever seen, Lance knew man couldn't have made them. Lance later found out that King Alfor had created them. Lance thought that made sense, alien technology was pretty sweet but when he asked Coran about how Alfor was able to create the very beasts that gave Lance freedom, Coran looked at Lance like he grew two heads and mumbled something about Gods. Lance didn't think Coran was the religious type but then he didn't really know Coran that well despite living with him for what felt like deco- phoebs. But, Lance supposed, it would make sense if God like beings did create the lions, they were magnificent.

Lance was 18 and going home. Well not going home, more like, de-touring home. But heading home nonetheless. He was excited, anxious, scared. Lance was feeling every emotion at once but he knew deep down that he was finally going to see his mama, his sisters, his cousins, everyone he missed everyone he didn't say goodbye too.

They were so close. Lance could see earth in the distance, he could taste the warm cooking of his mama's famous Picadillo Empanadas already.

Lance knew something was going to go wrong. Of course it would, why wouldn't it? The universe seemed to hate Lance. The Galra seemed to hate Lance more. The team honestly weren't expecting Galra ships to be this close to Earth, but here they were. Lance hated the Galra Army with every fibre of his body. He hated them. They were the reason Shiro's head was all messed up. They were the reason he was forced into a war that he had no business being in. With an angry scream Lance tore through the enemy, no one was going to take away his chance to see his family again. No one.

Lance didn't know what happened. One minute he was fighting and now he was falling. Falling to Earth. The Galra messed up Reds system so she was unable to start up. Just his luck. Lance cursed as the ground beneath him was fast approaching. He was so close. He couldn't die now. He couldn't die.

"mama" whispered Lance.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lance woke up his first thought was "oh hey I'm not dead!" Closely followed by "where the quiznak am I?"

As far as lance could tell he was in a bright room, the sheets were soft beneath him, much softer than the bed he used to have on the ship. Thinking about the ship made him homesick, well, partially homesick. It was the place he created so many memories with his friends, his oddball family and he missed it. He wanted everything to go back the way it was. With him, Keith, Coran, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, heck even Kaltenecker all living on that ship. He also wanted his real family, the comfort of his bed at home, but even though he's on Earth now, Lance assumes he's somewhere in America as that's the place he fell, he hasn't got identification, passport, nothing, he can't get out of the country. His lion is probably broken.

Red.

"RED" Lance cried out. "Where is she?" Lance needed to find her quickly, he couldn't feel her in his brain.

"Woah settle down there" a voice said gently. Lance's head whipped around to look at the boy who spoke. He was pretty decent looking, he had sandy blonde hair that fell into his eyes, his face was round and his nose a little pointy, he looked welcoming, kind. Lance always trusted people with kind eyes, firmly believing that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. And this boy had the kindest blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"Who are you? Where am I, have you seen my lion? It's pretty big I mean like" Lance could tell he was rambling and his voice hurt but he needed answers. He needed them now. The soft looking boy looked at him patiently and started re dressing the wound on Lances arm that he failed to notice earlier.

"My name is Will, you're at a summer camp in Long Beach, yes we saw your lion, it is safe"

Lances nose turned up at the word "it"

"She's a she not an it and if you keep referring to her like that I'll also stick you in a wormhole" Lances stomach suddenly turned into knots. As much as Keith annoyed him to the core he did actually miss him. They hadn't had a proper conversation since ever and Lance really wanted to put this petty rivalry behind him even though he was the one that started it. The soft looking boy, now named Will stuttered an apology, looking quite confused at the weird threat. Once the dressing was done Will moved away.

"I'll be right back so stay here"

Once Will had gone Lance laid back. He needed to find out where he was, send a signal, anything to the others to let them know that he's alive, but first he needed to find Red. Lance got up hesitantly. He may be reckless but he's been knocked out enough times to know that you don't stand up quickly after you wake up. Quietly and quickly, Lance made his way towards the door. He wasn't wearing any shoes but the rest of his clothes were still pretty intact, his Voltron uniform only cracking in some places. Lance looked around the room for anything that didn't scream "IM NOT FROM AROUND HERE" and found a yellow turtle neck and some black jeans. Yellow was never his colour but what other option did he have. Breathing deeply Lance chucked on the jumper, wincing as it brushed against his wound. Lance was quite surprised that he didn't sustain more injuries but he guessed the paladin armour helped out.

Lance opened the door. Honestly he didn't know what he was expecting but loads of tiny teenagers running around in metal amour and shields, swords just casually flying about which, may he note, is a major safety hazard. Just what kind of camp is this? In the distance he saw Will walking back towards him, an older man in a wheelchair was beside him. He looked old and weary like he's seen a thousand battles, which Lance can relate to. Instead of waiting Lance took off, he would admit only to himself that he was impulsive by nature, if anyone else pointed that out then they'd get the short end of his bayard. Finally Lance ended up at one of the many cabins that were situated around camp. Each one had It's own weird vibe but this one seemed less, how could Lance put it, threatening? Lance saw Will come out of the hut he was just in, no doubt looking for him. Quickly Lance dashed through the door of the cabin and hid behind a window.

It smelled of oil and metal. It smelled of Keith when Lance saw him for the first time in years, it smelled of Pidges hands when she tinkered around with the bolts in the castle. Lance really needed to stop thinking about them right now and focus on the mission. Shaking his head Lance stood up.

"umm excuse me?"

Lance turned around and looked down. Now Lance didn't want to brag but he was quite tall, as tall as Keith and Keith was tall. But when Lance says this boy was small. Boy was this boy small. "Uhh yes? Oh sorry yeah I'm just stopping by, by any chance have you seen my Lion anywhere?" The small boy nodded, his jet black hair was particularly slicked back with what Lance could only assume was oil.

"Your lion is with my brother, he's quite good at fixing things" the small boys eyes shone whilst talking about this brother of his, Lance thought back to when he was home, how his little nephews and nieces eyes would light up as they'd talk about their day or showed off a painting they created.

"Can you take me to him? That lions really important to me, she may be scared if I'm not with her" the small boy nodded, and led Lance towards the back of the cabin and out of the back entrance. 'That kid isn't dumb' Lance thought stepping into the woods behind the cabins. The boy clearly new that Lance didn't want to be found, he was growing to like this tiny thing. "So hey, i never got your name?"

"The names Harley, as in the motorbike" huh, cool kid and a cool name.

"My name's Lance" Harley nodded as he walked through the woods.

Lance was still trying to take everything in. It's been deco-phoebs since he's been on earth, he's missed everything from the colour of dirt to the leaves on the trees. Sure he's seen trees on other planets but they looked nothing like these trees, solid, earthy old trees. Trees that could tell you a thousand secrets if you knew how to listen. Lance was a self proclaimed sea lover but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the wonders of nature.

"We're nearly here"

Lance could see the distant flickers of red through the tree line as they got closer. He could feel her now, at the back of his mind, reassuring him that she was okay. Lance felt relief wash over him, his mind felt so empty without her constant companionship.

Finally they broke through the tree line. Red was laying there, she was in one piece but looked worse for wear, there were scratched all over her body, dents on her face where she must have landed. Red must have felt Lances guilt because a soft purr emitted from the lions mouth. Lance sprinted towards Red, "I'm so sorry girl, I won't ever do that again okay? No more crashing into planets, when we find the other's I'm going to take you out, just me and you girl" another purr erupted from Red as Lance fussed over her.

"You must really love her then?" A new voice laughed. Lance turned around. What greeted him could only be described as a scrawny latino elf. His ears peeked out from the dark brown hair thar flopped around his head. His eyes were a dark caramel and his smile wild. Lance recognised that smile. Where did Lance recognise it from.

"She's my lion of course I love her, don't I, don't I" Lance fussed Red under her metal chin. Lance saw the boys eyebrow rise up in amusement. "I'm sorry i never quite got your name?" Lance asked as he checked Red again for anymore injuries.

"It's Leo" huh, Lance thought, Leo sounds familiar. Why does this boy look familiar.

"You remind me of someone" Lance blurted out. "Someone I've never met but I really wanted to meet. A cousin of mine"

Leo got out some waz polish and a cloth from his belt? Lance looked at the belt, then back at the cleaning supplies. Leo must have noticed his confused expression because he laughed and informed Lance that it was a 'magic tool belt'.

"Huh I didn't realise they had magic on Earth?" Lance was waiting for Leo to tease him. That's what normally happened with the team, Lance would say something stupid or obvious and the others would pick on him for it. But instead all that Leo said was.

"On... Earth?" Lance looked at the elf questioningly.

"Uh" Lance started to doubt his whereabouts now. Of course it all made sense, kids walking around with swords, weird creepy cabins, and Lance was pretty sure he saw a man with goat legs earlier. Maybe he wasn't in Earth, "this, is Earth yeh?" The other boy nodded slow.

"Obviously why wouldn't it be earth? Are you an Alien?" The boys face lit up. "I've never met an Alien before, you look so much like us, do you have gods on your planet? What is it like up there? I've never been to space is it cool, do you call it space? I can't believe it, the first Alien I meet and he's LATINO? Wait do you have genders? Tell me more!" Lance stood awkwardly as the boy finished his verbal fire. It was amusing to watch the boys arms fly everywhere, it reminded Lance of when he talked about things he was passionate about. Actually, the boy was reminding him too much of something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Well, no, I'm human, like you, fully 100 percent human. I'm actually from Cuba, and I'm not that religious so I couldn't say. Space is pretty cool though" Lance watched as Leo processed the information, he seemed deflated for a minute but his eyes regained their dangerously wild glint soon after.

"I'm technically half human, half God"

If Lance hadn't witnessed what he had in the last two years of being in space then be would have laughed. But Lance likes to think that he's seen it all. He is, after all, fighting a purple furry with a bunch of lions that form a robot.

"What, like the big G O D?"

Leo shook his head. "Oh no, that God doesn't get around much, he's basically one of the big guys up there with the deities of the Hindu gods, they tend to keep to themselves, no I'm the son of Hephaestus, the greek god of fire, metalworking. You've heard of him right?"

Lance nodded, a tad bit overwhelmed but nothing he couldn't handle.

"Huh so who's your mum then? Bet she's pretty amazing to get a catch like a greek god"

A sad look washed over Leo. "Yeah she was, she was perfect"

Lance apologised profusely, damn it, Lance always had to say the worst things. Leo smiled a little, it's okay, it was a long time ago, about 12 years ago."

"What was her name? If you don't mind me asking?"

Leo smiled fondly, "her name was Esperanza"

Lance frowned. Again, familiar names and faces kept popping up. Why did her name sound so familiar, why did Leos name sound so familiar. Lance caught Leo staring at him weirdly. Lance sighed. Might as well explain.

" I'm sorry, you just really do remind me of a cousin, his name was Leo Valdez, i never knew him, he was a relative from my dads side, I only saw a picture of him when i was little, my dad passed away when I was young so i never found out who he was"

Lance looked up to see Leos jaw practically hanging on the ground.

"I'm Leo Valdez"

It all clicked, the hair, the eyes, the wild smile. It was him. Lance laughed loudly. He's been wondering about this boy for years and now he's finally here. Lance ran over to Leo and hugged him.

"Dude, my mama won't believe it when she sees you, you look like my dad in a way this is so cool"

Leo took a step back.

"I uh, i would love to but" Lance could tell Leo was fiddling with something in his belt. Lance understood how Leo was feeling. Under extreme anxiety or stress Lance would often find things to play with, to distract himself from the ever growing tightness in his chest.

"But, we're kinda in the middle of a war"


End file.
